This invention relates to a synthetic rigid bandage especially for splinting and/or supporting a diseased or injured limb, comprising a curable core which is formed by one or more synthetic resin-impregnated layers of longitudinal strips of a textile fabric, is covered at the one side thereof with a pad and on the other side thereof with a water vapour-pervious, longitudinally and/or transversally elastic film or sheet cover, and is to be stored in a moisture-proof package, said core being mouldable in its ready-for-application state.
The state of the art includes a large number of documents describing orthopaedic splints or supports, whose materials as well as the means for manufacturing are in principle largely similar to those described in the introductory part of claim 1 of the subject matter of the application. Textile substrates of natural or synthetic and frequently glass fibres are mostly used as starting materials; these are impregnated with a curable synthetic resin and are storedxe2x80x94mostly in the form of a rollxe2x80x94in a film envelope, protected against access of a curing medium. As curing agents are provided, inter alia:
a) Ultraviolet or X-rays; e.g. in interaction with polyurethane and a photoinitiator according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,475.
b) Action of heat; for instance, an orthopaedic bandage of thick textile material with a thermoplastic composition containing 60-80%-wt. of saturated linear polyester and 20-40%-wt. of resin with a low crystallization point and a softening temperature of about 45xc2x0 C. is cured according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,509.
c) Air humidity or water; for instance, a textile substrate is impregnated with resin from the group of water-curable isocyanates, stored in a porous envelope and is impregnated in water for curing, according to DE-PS 23 57 931.
d) Semirigid, resilient supports for injured or diseased limbs are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,542 and are likewise cured by a reaction between resin and curing agent.
From multiple negative experience it has turned out as a disadvantage in the stocking of resin-impregnated textile substrates that in common systems of the above-described kind which comprise resin-impregnated cores after an unpredictable time of storage the resin penetrates or bleeds through the cover. This leads to skin contact with the hands of the user and thereby to a possible risk since the user is to work without a corresponding protective device (gloves). Moreover, the product is rendered unusable.
The object of this invention is to improve a synthetic rigid bandage of the kind mentioned in the introductory part of claim 1 in such a way that in the stocking of resin-impregnated textile fabrics or nonwovens even for an extended period of time the passage of resin through the cover is securely prevented, using uncomplicated and inexpensive means.